Bottle construction



Oct. 3, 1961 J. F. WATSON 3,002,642

BOTTLE CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 11, 1959 wqw ii IN VEN TOR.

United States Patent Ghee 02,642

Filed Sept. 11, 1959, Ser. No. 339,454 1 Claim. Cl. 215-43 The presentinvention relates to a bottle and to a pliable closure for the bottle. i

In my United States Patent No. 2,265,015, issued December 2, 1941, isdisclosed a bottle and a pliable metal closure which extends over theportion of the neck of the bottle between the pouring opening thereinand an annular flange extending about the bottleneck below thepouringopening. The portion of the neck of the bottle between the flangeand the-opening is provided with a continuous. sealing grooveinterrupted by spaced lugs about which the skirt of the closure ismolded and with male screw threads about which the skirt of the closureis molded. Upon rotation of the closure relative to the bottle, themolded threads on the, skirt of the closure slide upwardly on thethreads formed on the bottleneck and a part of the skirt molded intothev sealing groove is expanded outwardly and released'from the grooveby action of the lugs. The bottle closure of the aforesaid patent hasnot been wholly successfulfor' the reason that the release of theclosure from the continuous groove and traveling of the closure threadson the bottleneck threads tend to collapse the closure and to deform theclosure against re-use on the bottleneck. Additionally, due to therelatively large area of the outer surface of the neck portion engagedby the inner wall of the closure, the closure resists a normalhand-applied twisting or rotary force in order to effect removal of theclosure, and it requires more than, a normal hand-applied twisting orrotary force to replace the closure in sealing position on thebottleneck. The area of engagement of the closure with the sealingsurface must be limited, yet sufficient to afford a good seal betweenthe two. Also, the screw thread bottle of the aforesaid patent precludesother types of milk bottle closures being used interchangeably thereon.So, if a dealer desires to handle the screw thread bottle and cap, thiswould require that such dealer discard all bottles of the type he has onhand and order a complete stock of new bottles. This, of course, is aserious deterrent in the promotion of the screw thread enclosure.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bottle and a closuretherefor which may be manufactured on conventional machines presently inuse, on which, when manufactured as a milk bottle, is compatible withmilk bottles presently in use and which may be used intermingled withthe presently in use milk bottles during a state of change, one whichlends itself to packaging by automatic machinery of current design, andone which is economically feasible.

Another object of the present invention is to provid a bottle closuretherefor which may be removed from the bottleneck with a minimum ofhand-applied twisting or rotary force and which may be replaced upon thebottleneck with a minimum of hand-applied twisting or rotary force.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a bottle and aclosure therefor which has a maximum area of interengaging surfaces toprovide an eflicient seal between the two, and one having meansseparating the sealing groove from the threaded surface portion so thatthe threads molded into the closure are not apt to be deformed when theclosure is removed from the bottleneck and the threads on the inner wallof the closure are drawn over the pouring section in which the sealinggroove is provided.

A still further object of the present invention is to Fatented Oct. 3,1961 provide a bottle and a closure therefor which has means separatingthe surface in which there is a sealing groove and the portion of thebottleneck in which there are female threads to which a part of theskirt of the closure is molded upon sealing of the closure on thebottleneck, such means enhancing the operation of removal andreplacement of the closure on the bottleneck, aifording protection tothe molded threads on the inner wall of the closure when the latter isremoved from the bottleneck, providing an optimum hygienic conditionprotecting the threads on the bottleneck from contamination whentheclosure has been removed and repeatedly replaced upon the bottleneck,and permitting the embossing inwardly of the skirt of the closure with adesign or series of designs serving to identify the bottle and closureand also. to lend rigidity to the closure. 7

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will befully apparent from the following description when taken in conjunctionwith the annexed drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of the neck portion of a milkbottle with the closure of the present invention installed therein andshown in section,

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of the assembly shown in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a view taken on the line 33 of FIG- URE 1, p

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the bottle with the closure removed,

FIGURE 5 is an elevational view of the milk bottleneck portion shown inFIGURES 1 and 2, with 16 0101 sure removed therefrom, and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view taken on the line 6-6 of FIGURE 1.

Referring in greater detail to the drawing, in which like numeralsindicate like parts throughout the several views, the reference numeral10 designates generally a bottle having a neck portion 12 and a pouringsection 14 provided with an opening 16 extending about the top of theneck portion 12. l An outwardly projecting annular flange 18 extendsabout the neck portion 12 below and spaced from the pouring section 14.In FIGURES 5 and 6, an inwardly projecting annular recess is shown mostclearly, the recess being designated by the numeral 20 and being formedin the neck portion 12 between the pouring section :14 and the flange18. The recess 20 is contiguous to the pouring section 14 and is aboveand spaced from the flange 18.

The exterior surface of the neck portion 12 in the space between therecess 20 and the flange 18 tapers inwardly from the flange 18 to therecess 20. The surface 22 is provided with a plurality of spacedinclined grooves 24 forming female screw threads having their closedends adjacent to and spaced from the flange 18.

The pouring section 14 has a vertically disposed ex terior surface 26provided with a plurality of spaced grooves each inclined in the samedirection as the grooves 24 in the surface 22 and at substantially thesame angle, the grooves in the surface 26 being sealing grooves anddesignated by the numeral 28. This arrangement of the grooves 24 and 28has the advantage in that the resistance in rotating the closure 30 forremoval is minimized.

In combination with the bottle above described, the present inventionprovides a pliable closure fabricated from thin metal or the like, anddesignated in FIGURES 1 and 2 by the numeral 30. The thin metal or foilof the closure 30 is stretched over the opening 16 in the bottleneckportion 12, and the metal pressed into the sealing grooves 28 bypneumatic or similar pressure, efiecting a tight seal against seepage.The skirt 32 extends dowuwardly to and terminates at the flange 18,

with the portion inwardly of the terminating end circumposed about thepouring section 14, the recess 20, and the female threads formed by thegrooves 24. The skirt 32 is molded into the grooves 24 so as to formmale. threads on the inner wall of the skirt 32, as at 34 in FIGURE 1.The skirt 32 is also molded into the grooves 28 so as to form other malethreads 36, as shown in FIGURE 1.

' A feature of the invention resides in the fact that the crosssectional area of the neck portion 12 at the upper end of the taperingsurface 22is larger than the cross sectional area of the pouring section14. This protects the male threads 34 formed on the inner wall of theskirt 32 when the closure 30 is twisted ofi of the bottleneck portion12. When the closure 30 is removed from the bottleneck portion 12, thethreads 34 will have ample room to clear the pouring section 14 and willnot be deformed or made useless for resealing the closure 3%) upon theneck portion 12 when it is desired to seal the opening 16.

The portion of the skirt 32 between the threads 36 and the threads 34may be provided with a plurality of spaced indentations or flutes, as at38 in FIGURE 2, to decorate the closure 30 and to provide rigidity tothe closure 30 if desired. The flutes 38 project inwardly into therecess 20, but not beyond the surface 26 of the pouring section 14.

In order to provide strength to the pouring section 14 and make thelatter less liable to breakage, the recess 20 is provided with ashoulder 44 at its upper end.

In use, the neck portion 12 of the bottle 10' may be formed uponpresently in use glass working machinery and the closure 30 may beprovided in a partially formed cup shape for final forming upon thebottleneck portion 12 after the bottle 10 has been filled with theliquid to be sold an'ddis-tributed.

Upon the application of a twisting or rotary force to the closure 30,the closure 30 may be removed from the neck portion '12 with the threads36 expanded and deformed-so as to indicate to the user of the bottle 10that the bottle 10 has been opened. The closure 30 may be replaced uponthe neck portion 12 with the threads 34 again entering the grooves 24for resealing the closure 30 on the neck portion 12. The replacement ofthe closure 30 requires only a moderate twisting or rotary force tobring the closure 30, after it has been stretched over the opening 16,into tight sealing engagement with the grooves 28 and skirt 32 insurrounding relation about the pouring section 14, the recess 20, andthe female threads formed by the grooves 24.

The recess 20 in the neck portion 12 has the advantage of providing inthe top section of the bottle above the flange 18 a separation betweenthe threaded surface 22 and the pouring section 14 and permits thedesign of a bottle finish over which other types of closures, eithermetal, paper, or the like, may be applied. This allows a dealer toarrange a time planned change to the screw threaded cap without havingto first replace his supply of old bottles with a new stock of bottlesof the screw thread design, and sufier a bottle loss penalty.

Another advantage of the recess 20 is that it provides a means fordesign of a-lbottle, finish that will assure free and dripless pouringof milk from the bottle. This is attained by arresting the knowncapillary attraction between the milk and glass by providing .a.horizontal floor under the pouring section. 1A- and extending inwardlyand at a right angle with the perpendicular side of the pouring section.Ata point where these two lines meet is 'where capillary attraction isbroken, allowing the milk to pour clear and free without dripping downover the side of the bottle. This design is clearly shown in FIG- URES 5and 6.

A further advantage of the recess 20- is to provide added height to thebottle finish, thus permitting the use of a closure of greater skirtlength and attain maximum protection to the bottle contents againstcontamination. This attainment is without increasing the surface contactbetween the neck portion 12 and the inner surface of the closure 30,facilitating the ease of the removal of the closure 30. v

A bottle capped by a closure of this invention doesnot require a plug inthe opening 16 in the bottleneck, although such plug may be employed, ifdesired. Also, the closure of this invention is usually embossedwithdescriptive lettering, or itmay be pre-printed with suitablerequired markings, as well as being embossed at the time the blank forthe closure is shaped ready for placement on the bottle and by pressuremade secure as a seal.

What is claimed is:

The combination with a bottle having a neck portion, a pouring sectionprovided with an opening extending about the top of said neck portion,an outwardly pro jecting annular flange extending about said neckport-ion below and spaced from the pouring section,a-n-inwardlyprojecting annular recess formed in said neck portionbetween said pouring section and said flange, said recess beingcontiguous-to said pouring section and being spaced above said flange,spaced inclined grooves form-ing female screw threads formed in theexterior surface of said neck portion and each having the upper endopening into said recess, and separated sealing grooves each inclined inthe same direction and at the same angle as said screw threads formed inthe exterior surface of said pouring section, of a pliable closurecover-ing said opening and having a skirt extending over said pouringsection, recess, screw threads and down to said flange and molded aboutsaid female threads and sealing grooves to form raised male threadsconformably shaped to fit Within said female threads and sealinggrooves, said closure being removable by rotation with respect to saidbottle without destroying the raised screw threads molded in said skirt.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

